Queensborough Students Declared Winners at Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students

Published: November 17, 2016

Biology students Adolfo Coyotl and Erick Subillaga were named the winners in the Microbiology and Neurobiology Categories, respectively, at the 2016 Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS). The ABRCMS conference, attended by 12 additional Queensborough presenters, is the largest undergraduate research conference for underrepresented students in the country. It was attended by nearly 4000 students, faculty and administrators from over 800 colleges and universities.  There were over 1800 posters presented this year.

“I am so proud of all the Queensborough students who presented at this year's ABRCMS,” said Dr. Nidhi Gadura, Associate Professor and Chair, Biological Sciences & Geology. “I am especially proud of our QCC MSEIP students, Adolfo and Erick, who won the competition. This success speaks to the hard work and dedication of their mentors Drs. Joan Petersen and Mohammad Javdan, who spent time in the lab with the students to help them prepare for their presentations.  The competition is stiff as students are being judged along with their senior college peers from universities across the nation. Queensborough should be proud of the quality of research we do on our campus that helps us stand out." Dr. Gadura is the Research Integrity Officer and Project Director for QCC Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP).

Winner in Microbiology Category

Adolfo Coyotl

Isolation and Identification of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria from New York City Soil Samples

Adolfo was supported by QCC MSEIP

Winner in Neurobiology Category

Erick Subillaga

Pesticides and Alzheimer’s Disease:  High Mobility Group Box1 Protein (Hmgb1) Pathway and Microglia Dysfunction

Erick was supported by QCC MSEIP program

Additional Queensborough Student Presenters:

Oscar J. Zagalo

Identification of Plankton Species in the Hempstead Harbor Region Using DNA Barcoding

BioPREP and QCC MSEIP program

Harpreet Singh

Using Co1 Vs. 16s rRNA DNA Barcoding for Taxon Clustering and Phylogenetic Resolution in Vertebrates

QCC MSEIP program and CUNY Research Scholar Program

Francisco I. Caban

Investigating Sex Differences in the Autophagy Response to Fasting in Mice

BioPREP and QCC MSEIP program and CUNY Research Scholar

Margaret De Los Santos

Role of Loop 6 in Cyclic-di-GMP Specific Phosphodiesterase in Shewanella woodyi

BioPREP and QCC MSEIP program and CUNY Research Scholar

Nicholas Carrero and Rawlric Sumner

Synthesis of Ruthenium Nanoparticle-Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Composites for the Degradation of Congo Red Dye

Bridges/RIMS program

Rashida R. Farokhi

Neuronal Cell Death and Fluoro-Jade C Staining in Rat Model of Alzheimer Disease

Bridges/RIMS program

Nataly Jara

Functional Characterization of the Actin-Binding Domain of the Drosophila Protein Dunc115

Bridges/RIMS program

Mathiu Perez Rodriguez

Antibacterial Activity and Temporal Resistance of Different Cultivars of Solanum Tuberosum Wound-Healing Extracts in E. coli & E. carotovora Bacterial Strains

Bridges/RIMS program

Raquel Romaine

Memory Impairments during Cognitive Tasks in a Streptozotocin Induced Rat Model of Sporadic Alzheimer’s disease

Bridges/RIMS program

Yafit Muladjanov

Green Fluorescent Protein- Rhomboid Protease Fusion.

NSF RUI

Liliana Lara

Fusing a Green Fluorescent Protein to SCO2139, a Streptomyces coelicolor Rhomboid Protease,

CUNY Scholars, QCC MSEIP and NSF RUI

Joangela J. Nouel, Edward Nouel

Microbiomes Associated to Plant Roots in NYC Soil

CUNY Scholars, CUNY Joint Seed Program

The outstanding faculty mentors who generously dedicated their time and guidance to the student presenters are:

Biological Sciences & Geology: Dr. Nidhi Gadura, Associate Professor and Chairperson; Dr. Joan Petersen, Associate Professor; Dr. Mohammad Javdan, Assistant Professor; Dr. Julian Stark, Associate Professor; Dr. Naydu Carmona, Assistant Professor and Dr. Monica Trujillo, Associate Professor; and Dr. Regina Alvarez, Substitute Associate Professor;                                                             

Drs. Maricedes Acosta Martinez, Kelly Warren, and Dominique E. Williams, Stony Brook University; Dr. Francisco Villegas, York College; Drs. Christopher Roblodowski and Qi He, Brooklyn College; and Dr. Ruth E. Stark, The City College of New York.

Chemistry: Dr. Tirandai Hemraj-Benny, Associate Professor; Dr. Rakhi Agarwal, Assistant Professor, Gujarat Forensic Science University and Dr. Akira Kawamura, Associate Professor, Hunter College.                                  

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